


Silence, The Song of Sithis

by bobakiin



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Gen, M/M, silencer/lucien if you squint even more, silencer/vicente if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22540864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobakiin/pseuds/bobakiin
Summary: Kadeth obeys Lucien Lachance, and purifies the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. The Purification

Kadeth silently slipped into the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, feeling numb with dread.

He remembered staring at Lucien in disbelief as he was ordered to kill the people he had come to consider family. But who among them would betray the Dark Brotherhood? 

Vicente first, he decided. Because his room was the most isolated, and because Kadeth didn't want him to see what would happen to the Sanctuary. Quietly greeting Ocheeva as she walked past, he made his way down to Vicente's room.

"Welcome back, Kadeth." Vicente smiled at him, and Kadeth couldn't bring himself to smile back. Vicente noticed, getting up to walk over to him.

"Look at me. What's wrong?" The vampire asked softly. Kadeth shook his head, hugging him instead of replying. Vicente blinked in surprise for a moment, before wrapping his arms around the shorter Breton. 

"Vicente…I'm sorry." Before he could ask why, Kadeth had already stabbed him in the back. 

"Why…?" Vicente asked, eyes already growing dull. Kadeth removed the blade, gently setting him on the floor.

"The Night Mother demanded it." He replied, though he knew that the words fell on ears that could no longer hear them.

There was a gasp, and Kadeth quickly looked up to see Antoinetta Marie standing at the door, staring at him in horror. He lunged across the room, shoving her against the wall. Any shouts would attract the others, and he knew he couldn’t fight off several assassins at once.

"Brother, what-" Kadeth slit her throat before she could even finish her sentence. The girl who had always been so full of energy was now lifeless on the stone floor. He kissed her forehead, before cleaning the blood off his blade before heading back upstairs. 

He found Teinaava in the training room, talking to M'raaj-dar. Two arrows sent them straight to Sithis before either of them even realized what was happening. Kadeth closed their eyes before he left. He had killed them quickly, but not quick enough to miss the look in Teinaava's eyes, the look of someone who just realized he had been betrayed. 

Telaendril and Gogron were taking a nap together in the living quarters, their two beds shoved together. At least they wouldn't know what was happening, Kadeth thought, as he almost gently slit their throats. They'd wake up in the Void, reunited with their Family, while he was left here to bear the guilt of his actions. He almost envied them.

And finally, Ocheeva. Kadeth found her walking to her room, and quickly shot an arrow at her head. But his hands were shaky from both mental and physical exhaustion, and it missed her. 

"What is the meaning of this!?" Ocheeva demanded, pulling out a dagger as Kadeth rushed at her.

"Purification." He whispered, and Ocheeva’s eyes went wide as she faltered just long enough for him to stab her. the Argonian fell to the floor, eyes filled with the same look as her brother. "I’m sorry, Sister.” 

The Sanctuary had always been quiet, but now it was silent. Too silent. There was no sound, but the symphony of death played clearly in the cold halls. Kadeth sunk to his knees, letting the despair he had been holding back overwhelm him. He had not cried since Sunswell burned all those years ago, but now he sobbed over the second Family he had lost, this time by his hand. He didn't know how long he knelt there, but by the time he had run out of tears, his throat burned and he couldn't speak. 

Never again would he sit by Vicente as he read, a hand absent-mindedly playing with Kadeth’s hair as the younger Breton dozed off next to him. Never again would he test Antoinetta’s cooking, reminding her to make a version of the soup without garlic. Never again would he spar with Teinaava, have tea with Ocheeva, laugh with Telaendril and Gogron, or exchange insults with M’raaj-dar, who had just began softening towards him. No longer would the Sanctuary be filled with laughter or talk. And it broke Kadeth’s heart.

  
  


Whether any of them had truly been traitors, he didn’t know. But he did know that he had loved them all. 


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanguine, the color of night. The floors of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary are now painted this color, and Lucien Lachance enters the darkest night he's ever known.

Quiet footsteps broke the silence of the Sanctuary, as Lucien Lachance observed the scene before him.

He trusted Kadeth, and was confident in his abilities. But the Breton should have returned ages ago, and he grew worried. 

Perhaps he should have carried out the Purification himself, Lucien thought, before he shook his head. No, it was supposed to be a test of Kadeth's abilities. But he had been sent into a den full of skilled assassins. Maybe he hadn't made it out alive. 

The quiet was almost overwhelming. Normally he relished in silence. After all, it was the song of Sithis himself. But this silence was unwelcoming. 

He saw Ocheeva's body first, in the main hall, right outside her room. The Argonian he had raised as his own, alongside her brother. Family in all but birth, she lay dead on the ground, whatever warmth she had now gone. Along with everyone else. Lucien took a moment to kneel beside her.

  
“Goodbye, my child.” He murmured, knowing she couldn’t hear him. 

He checked all the rooms, finding Teinaava, M'raaj-dar, Telaendril, and Gogron. Had it been Antoinetta Marie who had killed Kadeth then? Or had it been Vicente? But he knew that Vicente could never bring himself to raise a blade against Kadeth.

There was nowhere else left to search, so he walked down to where the vampire's room was.

The first thing he saw was Antoinetta. Slumped against the wall, eyes closed. One would have thought she was asleep, if not for the stab wound and the dried tears on her face.

Then he saw Vicente. His oldest friend, and though they had their disagreements-especially recently- it pained Lucien to see his friend dead in front of him. His skin seemed even paler than usual, and even closed eyes couldn’t fix his expression of hurt.

Finally, he saw Kadeth. He was alive, but curled up in the dark shadows, so quiet that Lucien almost didn't see him. He was next to Vicente, eyes almost more lifeless than the ones of the corpses in the Sanctuary.

"You had me worried." 

Kadeth didn't reply, not even looking at him. Normally Lucien would have punished him for his insolence. But Lucien knew he didn’t deserve an answer. Not after this.

He knelt next to Kadeth, checking him for injuries. There were none. As skilled as ever, even when forced to kill the ones he loved. 

Lucien picked him up, surprised at how light the Breton was. He carried him out of the Sanctuary, noticing how he closed his eyes as they passed Ocheeva's body. He didn't open them until they reached Fort Farragut, and Lucien laid him on the bed.

Kadeth didn't hear anything Lucien said to him, his thoughts muddled from exhaustion and grief. At some point he felt a hand rest gently on his head. He looked up at Lucien, who was watching him with what almost could have been sadness. Closing his eyes, he let himself slip away into the darkness that is sleep.

From a voice that sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away, he heard an apology, followed by a single choked sob.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sad stuff b happening

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this instead of doing my homework lmao
> 
> hope you enjoyed the angst :)


End file.
